Improvement in boots and shoes



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

EDVARD HEATON AND JOSEPH L. JOYCE, OF NEV HAVEN, CONNECTICUT.

ilVlPROVEMENT IN BOOTS AND SHOES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 33,1133, dated October 8, 1861.

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that we, EDWARD HEATON and JOSEPH L. J OYOE, both of New Haven, in the county of New Haven and State of Connecticut, have invented a new and useful Improvement in the Construction of Boots and Shoes; and we do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the annexed drawings, forming part of this specification, in which Figure l is a longitudinal vertical section of our invention, taken in the line a: of Fig. 3; Fig. 2, a transverse vertical section of the same, taken in the line y y of Fig. l, -and Fig. 3, a bottom view or inverted plan of the same.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding part-s in the several figures.

The object of this invention is to economize in the stock ot boots and shoes by dispensing with a great portion of the outsole and all the shankleather; also to give greater ease to the foot in walking and to re lieve the upper-leather of much of the lstrain to which itis ordinarily subjected,and facilitate the manufacture of boots and shoes, as well as the repairing of the same when necessary.

The invention consists in the employment or use of a shank constructed ot'V metal or other suitable material, and attached directly to t-he insole Without the intervention of an outsole, as hitherto.

To enable those skilled in the art to fully understand and construct our invention, we will proceed todescribe it.

A represents the upper part of a shoe, which is cut out and arranged in the usual way, the heel B, as well as the sole C, being attached to the upper in the ordinary n1anner.

D represents a shank, which may he of metal. rlhin steel would answer a good purpose, although other metal or rigid material may be used. This shank D is curved to correspond with the arch of the foot and the desired width ot the shoe between the heel B and the backend of the front part of the sole C, as shown clearly in Fig. 3.

The back end of the shank D is inserted in the upper part of the heel B, and the front part of the shank is inserted under the back end of the sole C, nails c. passing through the front and back ends of the shank, as shown clearly in Fig. l. The shank D at its sides is secured by nails b directly to the edges of the upper A, lining E, and insole F, the nails being clinched inside the shoe by being driven against a metal last or one having a metal surface. The shank D thus attached to the upper is not provided with any outsole, and hence the lling or shank-leather hitherto employed is dispensed With, and consequently the labor attending the applying of the same to the boot or shoe. The labor of attaching the shank D to the boot or shoe is quite triiiing, and the shank has a tendency to render the shoe much more durable than hitherto, as it is somewhat elastic and yields or gives to the movement of the foot and at the same time preserves the arch or hollow of the shoe, preventing it from sinking or sagging, as is the case with the ordinary leather Shanks, a result which strains the shoe and frequently causes the upper and sole to separate or rupture at their junction. In case a boot or shoe requires to be half-soled, it will be seen that the work can be readily done, as the sole C does not, as hitherto, require to beV detached or cut from a leather shank, il ling, and outsole.

This invention gives the boot or shoe a much neater appearance than those manufactured in the usual way.

Ne do not claim,broadly, a metallic shank for boots and shoes, for they have been used, but only in the capacity of a filling placed in a leather shank for the purpose of sustaining the same, the leather outsole being employed the same vas when the leather filling is used and attached to the upper in the ordinary way.

What We claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

A shank constructed of metal or other suficiently rigid material impervious to moisture and applied to the uppers of boots and shoes independently of the heel and sole, and Without an outsole, substantially as described.

EDWARD HEATON. JOSEPH L. JOYCE. Witnesses:

DAVID J. PEoK, GEO. H. WATRoUs. 

